Medical vaporizer

Abstract

A medical vaporizer includes a liquid drug reservoir configured to receive and hold a liquid drug. A low power graphical display is configured to intermittently receive power. The low power graphical display is operable to visually present information and maintain the visual presentation of information in the absence of power. A controller is configured to intermittently receive power and upon receiving power the controller operates to determine a status of a medical vaporizer. The controller operates the low power graphical display to present the status of the medical vaporizer as visually presented information.

The invention claimed is: 
     
       1. A medical vaporizer, comprising:
 a liquid drug reservoir configured to receive and hold a liquid drug; 
 a low power graphical display configured to intermittently receive power, the low power graphical display operable to visually present information and maintain the visual presentation of information in the absence of power; 
 a controller configured to intermittently receive power and upon receiving power, the controller operates to determine a level of the liquid drug in the liquid drug reservoir and operates the low power graphical display to present the level of the liquid drug in the liquid drug reservoir as visually presented information and wherein in the absence of external power to the medical vaporizer, the low power graphical display operates to maintain the visual presentation of the status of the level of the liquid drug in the liquid drug reservoir; 
 an energy storage device connected to the controller and configured to receive external power from an external power source, wherein external power charges the energy storage device, and the controller receives power from the energy storage device in the absence of external power from the external source; and 
 a filler cap state detector operably connected to the liquid drug reservoir, the filler cap state detector operable under power from the energy storage device to detect if the liquid drug reservoir is accessed while the medical vaporizer is in the absence of external power, wherein upon the controller receiving power, the controller operates to determine the level of the liquid drug in the liquid drug reservoir if the filler cap state detector indicates the liquid drug reservoir has been accessed while the medical vaporizer is in the absence of power. 
 
     
     
       2. A medical vaporizer, comprising:
 a liquid drug reservoir configured to receive and hold a liquid drug; 
 a low power graphical display configured to intermittently receive power, the low power graphical display operable to visually present information and maintain the visual presentation of information in the absence of power; 
 a controller configured to intermittently receive power and upon receiving power, the controller operates to determine a status of the medical vaporizer, wherein the status of the medical vaporizer comprises a level of the liquid drug in the liquid drug reservoir, and operates the low power graphical display to present the status of the medical vaporizer as visually presented information, wherein the controller operates the graphical display to present at least a portion of the visually presented information as a two-dimensional matrix code. 
 
     
     
       3. The medical vaporizer of  claim 2 , wherein the visually presented information comprises at least one of: a liquid drug type, a vaporizer serial number, a vaporizer manufacturer, a vaporizer manufacture date, a calibration table, a manufacturer website, a last service date, a maintenance log, an operation log, a current vaporizer location, a location log, liquid drug volume history, a date of fill, and a fill log, a maintenance alert, a service alert, and a current liquid volume alert. 
     
     
       4. The medical vaporizer of  claim 2 , wherein the low power graphical display is an electronic ink display. 
     
     
       5. The medical vaporizer of  claim 2 , wherein the medical vaporizer is compatible for use with a magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) machine. 
     
     
       6. The medical vaporizer of  claim 2 , wherein in the absence of external power to the medical vaporizer, the low power graphical display operates to maintain the visual presentation of the status of the medical vaporizer. 
     
     
       7. The medical vaporizer of  claim 6 , further comprising: an energy storage device connected to the controller and configured to receive external power from an external power source, wherein external power charges the energy storage device, and the controller receives power from the energy storage device in the absence of external power from the external source. 
     
     
       8. The medical vaporizer of  claim 7 , further comprising:
 a computer readable medium communicatively connected to the controller; 
 wherein when the controller receives power from the energy storage device, the controller operates to intermittently update the determined status of the medical vaporizer and store the updated determined status in the computer readable medium. 
 
     
     
       9. The medical vaporizer of  claim 8 , wherein when the controller receives power from the power supply, the controller operates in a full power operational mode wherein the controller is operable to receive at least one user input and operates to modify the visually presented information on the low power graphical display according to the at least one user input. 
     
     
       10. A vaporizer system comprising:
 a medical vaporizer comprising: 
 a liquid drug reservoir configured to receive and hold a liquid drug; 
 a low power graphical display configured to intermittently receive power, the low power graphical display operable to visually present information and maintain the visual presentation of information in the absence of power; and 
 a controller configured to intermittently receive power and upon receiving power, the controller operates to determine a status of the medical vaporizer and operates the low power graphical display to present the status of the medical vaporizer as visually presented information; 
 an anesthesia delivery machine configured to connect to the medical vaporizer, and configured to supply power to the medical vaporizer when the anesthesia delivery machine is connected to the medical vaporizer; and 
 an inventory management device communicatively connected to at least one of the medical vaporizer and the anesthesia delivery machine, wherein the inventory management device receives the status of the medical vaporizer through communication with at least one of the medical vaporizer and the anesthesia delivery machine and the inventory management device operates to store the received status of the medical vaporizer; 
 wherein the anesthesia delivery machine is further configured to communicate anesthesia delivery machine data to the controller when the anesthesia delivery machine is connected to the medical vaporizer; 
 wherein the medical vaporizer comprises a computer readable medium upon which the controller stores the anesthesia delivery machine data; and 
 wherein, upon receiving power, the controller of the medical vaporizer operates the low power graphical display to present the anesthesia delivery machine data. 
 
     
     
       11. The vaporizer system of  claim 10 , wherein the anesthesia delivery machine data comprises at least one of: anesthesia delivery machine status or state, anesthesia delivery machine concentration setting, anesthesia delivery machine maintenance or service information, an anesthesia delivery machine status log, or a log of anesthesia delivery machines to which the medical vaporizer has been connected. 
     
     
       12. The medical vaporizer of  claim 10 , wherein the low power graphical display is an electronic ink display. 
     
     
       13. The medical vaporizer of  claim 10 , wherein the medical vaporizer is compatible for use with a magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) machine. 
     
     
       14. The medical vaporizer of  claim 10 , wherein in the absence of external power to the medical vaporizer, the low power graphical display operates to maintain the visual presentation of the status of the medical vaporizer. 
     
     
       15. The medical vaporizer of  claim 14 , further comprising:
 an energy storage device connected to the controller and configured to receive external power from an external power source, wherein external power charges the energy storage device, and the controller receives power from the energy storage device in the absence of external power from the external source. 
 
     
     
       16. The medical vaporizer of  claim 15 , further comprising:
 a computer readable medium communicatively connected to the controller; 
 wherein when the controller receives power from the energy storage device, the controller operates to intermittently update the determined status of the medical vaporizer and store the updated determined status in the computer readable medium.